Rice Terraces and Harlem?

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These past few days have been especially packed, so forgive me if I skim the minutiae like what we had for breakfast.

Actually as it turns out, we couldn't even have breakfast our final morning in Sagada because we only had enough Pesos left to get to Banaue, our jump-off point for the rice terrace town of Batad. Sagada doesn't have an ATM and no currency converter places were open on a Sunday, so we just hopped the next jeepney out of town. We had to change jeepneys in a town called Bontoc. It's customary for the young local males to hop onto the roof of the jeepneys and sit among the strapped down bags, and for that leg, I had to join them. The benches in the back of the jeepney filled up quickly and at the last moment an elderly woman climbed on and as I was the only young guy left I volunteered to sit on the roof. Boy am I glad I did! There's no better way to see the Cordillera mountains that sitting on your pack, clutching onto the fastening ropes for your life. Up on the roof, I had the privilege of sitting next to the son of the woman to whom I relinquished my seat. He was a high school teacher in the area and was only to happy to act as tour guide as we climbed the mountains. Unfortunately I forgot to put on sunscreen and sitting under the baking sun for a few hours scorched my neck. Anyway, also on the roof was a Czech guy named Milan, a young lawyer who had quit his job to travel for a year. He had been to India already and after Asia is headed to Whitehorse of all places. To each his own, I guess.

Anyway, while I was making friends with Milan, Adrienne was chatting up a young married French couple on their sabbatical. Once we got to Banaue, we all realized we were all headed to Batad, so the five of us stuck together.

To get to Batad was yet another jeepney ride on even worse road. We had to stop at one point because they were doing blasting to make the rocky road wider. If you think riding on the roof indicates lax safety standards, the blasting was something else. Milan was curious to see what they were doing so he strolled down the road and was probably within 100 metres of it when where he was headed suddenly exploded.

Once the road ends, you're at the top of a ridge aptly named the "Saddle". From there it's an hour trek on foot into Batad, a little cultural oasis totally inaccessible by road. The place we stayed in Batad enhanced the unique experience. Our host Ramon had constructed a traditional hut for guests to sleep in, so the 5 of us stayed there and spent our daytime walking around the vast rice terraces. If you don't know what these rice terraces are, there's a reason they're nicknamed the 8th wonder. It's basically an entire mountain slope that has been carved into tiered levels where rice can be grown. All the miniature fields are irrigated by a system of little canals and ducts re-directed from a river above.

The next morning we hiked out to a nearby waterfall for a morning swim and packed up our things, bid farewell to Ramon and trekked out of the jungle back up to the Saddle, caught the jeepney we had arranged the day before and went back to Banaue where we caught a horrid night bus back to Manila. We arrived at 5, said our goodbyes to Milan and the French couple as the three of them were off to catch another 8 hour bus. Not for us, we were bussed out. Instead, we realized there would finally be no line at the Cebu Pacific office so we went to the airport and finally got the refund that had been denied to us so many times before. We then went to our trusty Manila hostel where the staff was all smiles when we arrived. We showered, had lunch and promptly fell asleep.

When we woke up we went out to the garden to research where to go next (Boracay) and were approached by a new arrival at the hostel. He had the confidence, swagger and dialect of a New York hip-hop jazz musician. Fitting, as that's exactly what he is. His name is Akil Dasan, check his website if you want, www.akildasan.com. He was just accompanying a guy touring Japan and came to Manila to play on some variety show on his way back to NYC. With an afternoon to kill, Akil recommended we check out this flea market he had found in Manila. He came with us and we poked around some souvenir shops before splitting ways for dinner. We met up with Akil at the hostel later and played some cards with him and a few of the off-duty hostel staff.

We have one more day in Manila, so we're going to actually get out and SEE Manila beyond the gated community where our hostel is located. As I right this Adrienne is posting pictures so I'll get some on here soon. She's also looking into accomodation in Boracay. The itinerary for the rest of the Philippines seems to be leave for a coastal town called Roxas tomorrow. Stay there overnight then catch a morning ferry to Boracay, the mecca of adventure sports in the Philippines. Colour me excited.

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Comments

[Matt]

I'll have you know that I read this entry in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory - a place of rich history, raw natural beauty and home to a proud and noble people. In another, equally lame vane, I thought I might as well post now in order to make my presence as an avid fraser-blog reader known to the other 3 fans. I really feel we should have jackets. Happy trails, buddy.

[Scott]

So it's not enough that I have to worry about you riding on top of jeepneys and spelunking through caves, but now you're not even wearing sunscreen!? And don't get me started about leaving the gated community. They build the gates for a reason, Fraser. That trip to Batad sounds absolutely incredible, and the pictures that Adri put up were fantastic. Can't wait to read about your "adventure sport" ...adventures.